What would you accumulate if you happen to had been a world-famous DJ? For Steve Aoki, the reply is: nearly every part.
The Grammy-nominated DJ excursions globally year-round in entrance of hundreds of thousands of followers. But his Las Vegas house is one thing he calls “Aoki’s Playhouse.” And it lives as much as the identify.
Open the massive cement door, secured with a key, to 1 specific room within the basement, and you’re confronted with a gorgeous collection of vinyl data.
Take a few steps inside, and rows of black cabinets are coloured prime to backside with a few of the most sought-after buying and selling playing cards in historical past.
Aoki collects every kind of issues — sneakers, vinyl and playing cards, to call a few. He collects each sort of card — each sport, each buying and selling card recreation.
“It’s insane, the cards,” he says, wanting round, in awe of the treasures he has accrued round him. “I’m surprised I even remember all this stuff.”
The room housing Aoki’s buying and selling card and vinyl collections. (Photo: Sean Jorgensen)
He lights up when he discusses one card particularly, and the nostalgia it triggers.
“I bear in mind seeing the ‘52 Topps Mickey Mantle as, like, the card I would never, ever own as a kid,” he says with a proud smile.
Today, it sits locked in a display case, neatly tucked away next to a pair of other legends: Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.
He gets up from his chair and excitedly jogs over to them.
“I always wanted some Babe Ruth cards, so I got the 1933 Goudey red back, 1933 Goudey green back … both PSA 8,” he says, pointing to both Ruth cards. “This card, last year, just sold in auction — PSA 8.5 for $1.5 million,” he says of the red back, almost in disbelief. “And I bought this for about a hundred grand.”
Minutes later, he turns around to face the full 2009-10 Panini Threads Stephen Curry rookie card autograph letter patch set, spelling out C-U-R-R-Y.
“When it comes to like high-grade, or I mean very expensive six-figure cards, I will spend money on Curry cards. That’s when I’ll dish out the intense bucks. But one in all my favourite playing cards I personal is that this triple auto, the Upper Deck Black LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan,” he says, tapping on the card that includes the trio of NBA legends, safely tucked away within the show case.
“Having that is like a treasure for me.”
Aoki with his Lionel Messi rookie card and Kobe Bryant/LeBron James/Michael Jordan triple autographed card. (Photo: Sean Jorgensen)
He takes a few steps down, towards his Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi Mega Cracks PSA 10 (playing cards in top-grade, Gem-Mint situation) rookie playing cards.
“This Messi sold a few months ago for $825,000 and then someone offered me over a million for this card, and I don’t want to sell it because I’m just like a collector. … Now I’m potentially negotiating to sell (it) for even higher than that. I’m working on that one. That’s a massive card.”
Look round, and the listing of legends goes on. Lewis Hamilton. Hulk Hogan. Tom Brady. Even playing cards of Aoki himself.
“Culture. You’re holding culture,” Aoki says. “And what has kept me so deep into this space is the community.”
Whether he’s launching muffins into the group — his signature stunt — at one in all his high-energy reveals, or hiding autographed playing cards in areas all around the world for his followers to search out, it’s simple to see Aoki is all about connecting with his community.
“The card boom is back,” he says excitedly.
As Aoki took The Athletic inside his private collection, it turned clear this ardour, like his music, is the place all of it comes collectively: gathering, tradition and community.
At 14 or 15 years outdated, Aoki found music as a car to precise himself, to assist form his identification.
His earliest recollections of gathering return even additional, although, to when he was no older than 9. He collected playing cards and comedian books, and was drawn to Wolverine comics, particularly.
“My friends would have binders of Barry Sanders rookie cards and Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards. I’m just like, this is crazy. If I get one, I’m happy, you know?” he remembers. “That was a big deal. I still remember going through my friends’ binders of all their cards, their Michael Jordan cards, whatever.”
Aoki rediscovered his childhood ardour for gathering through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when touring was placed on maintain. He was looped again into the pastime via buddies and was stunned by how a lot their playing cards had been promoting for.
“I started seeing some of their posts like, ‘I bought a card and then sold it for 10 grand,’ and I’m like, holy cow, this is crazy. Cards sell for that much?” he remembers.
Entrepreneurs Josh Luber, Gary Vaynerchuk, Dan Fleyshman and Jason Koonce — Aoki refers to them because the “four pillars” — taught him the technique of shopping for base playing cards, which had been sizzling on the time regardless of being plentiful. Aoki then purchased 60 PSA 10 base Luka Dončić playing cards for $1,600 every (now price about $200 every) and 50 PSA 10 Zion Williamson playing cards for $500 every (now price about $25 every), considering that whereas he was producing music at house, he might additionally begin buying and selling playing cards.
He rapidly realized, nevertheless, he’s not a vendor — he’s a collector.
With the assistance of collector Matt Allen, also called “Shyne150” — who revealed himself as one of many purchasers of the Jordan and Bryant 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection twin Logoman for $12.932 million, the most expensive card ever bought so far — Aoki pivoted to gathering “grails,” or high-end playing cards, particularly chasing after the classic ones.
“2020 was the first time I’m like, I have money and I want to buy some f—ing cards, you know?” Aoki says. “So, what do I want to buy? I gotta get that Mickey Mantle.”
Aoki bought the PSA 6 ‘52 Topps Mantle — among the most famous sports cards in history — from entrepreneur and fellow collector Rob Gough, who memorably purchased the PSA 9 for $5.2 million in 2021.
“We were always on the phone talking, and he’s like, ‘I have a PSA 6, I’ll promote it to you for $90k’ on the time, and I’m like, ‘I want this,’” Aoki says. “I opened it up and I’m like, ‘Oh, this feels so good.’ I mean, I just remember that. Like I just got the chills, just holding that card, knowing I own this card that I never thought I would ever own.”
Aoki wished to share his pastime and develop the community even bigger, and so he created the “Aoki’s Card House” Instagram account, the place he commonly posts movies about his playing cards and gathering journey.
“In 2020, I’m a pretty successful DJ. I have a career, I have a platform. So when I’m doing something, people are listening, I have some level of influence,” he says. “I need to speak about these things. I need to share my thoughts and … share the cards and the journey. And since then, I mean, I’m in it for life, like I’m a collector.”
One of the opposite methods he connects with fellow card collectors is thru scavenger hunts, promoted via the “Aoki’s Card House” social media channels, during which he’ll disguise particular gadgets, typically a signed or in any other case uncommon card, across the cities he’s touring in for individuals to search out. He not too long ago accomplished his two hundredth hunt whereas in New York City in late September.
“I have my world, and then there’s a collectible world. What’s the bridge? I’m always thinking about how to bridge these two because I have an amazing, loyal fan base around the world,” Aoki says. “You have a community that also obsesses about these things, and you share it and then the obsession grows further and it brought me back to the same psychology of when I was in high school and I found music.”
That sense of community is how he’s in a position to steadiness each passions.
Aoki’s collection spans the sports panorama, each fashionable and classic. From his PSA 8 André the Giant rookie card to his PSA 9 Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), from his Tiger Woods rookie card to his Wayne Gretzky 1979 O-Pee-Chee rookie.
Aoki’s collection contains key playing cards throughout all sports. (Photo: Sean Jorgensen)
And then there’s his Shohei Ohtani collection.
“Whatever Shohei Ohtani does, I’m watching everything he does,” Aoki mentioned. “I’m also a Dodgers fan, so the fact that he moved to the Dodgers was a big deal for me, and I’m obsessed about how the Dodgers are doing.”
Aoki additionally boasts one of many largest UFC collections on the planet, which incorporates a 2021 “True” Black Prizm Conor McGregor 1-of-1, a Khabib Nurmagomedov 1-of-1 autograph and at the very least 20 Khamzat Chimaev 1-of-1s.
“Probably the one consistent sport that I know the most about — and I’d say I only know 10 percent about it — but I know I’m the most obsessed with would be UFC,” he says. “I really love these fighters and I love watching.”
But these are simply his sports playing cards.
Aoki factors to a few holographic Charizards signed by Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara. Below them is a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator. “I wouldn’t let this go for under $1.5 million,” he says.
And there are about 37,000 different playing cards within the PSA Vault — “a highly sophisticated storage facility located in New Castle, Delaware, designed and outfitted for the safekeeping of collectibles,” in accordance with PSA’s web site — with which Aoki partnered earlier this yr to assist streamline the promoting course of. He’s additionally partnered with eBay to public sale a few of these playing cards within the vault.
“I haven’t cashed in on some of my huge grails. I’m definitely looking to do that,” he says. “I have certain cards I’m letting go from the collection. I’m a businessman, too, so I want to make those wise decisions.”
Aoki’s course of for purchasing and buying is about alternative and timing, and going “off the gut.”
“There’s certain things I really, really want,” he says. “I already owned a Ronaldo (rookie card). I bought the PSA 10 Mega Craques for $50 grand five years ago. I just bought another one for $288 grand from Fanatics, because I have a feeling there will be an opportunity in the future, and I could be wrong here, but that may be a $500,000 to $1 million card. Then I’ll sell.
“But I don’t want to sell my $50,000 investment for $500,000, regardless if it’s $500,000, because then I have to f—ing buy another f—ing Ronaldo. … He’s Ronaldo.
“And it’s just a matter of, like, do you need the cash now? That’s the other question I asked myself. I don’t need the cash right now. I’m DJing, like, a lot.”
Aoki is open to listening on extra Curry Logoman playing cards as his subsequent ‘Holy Grails.’ For probably the most half, although, he claims his urge for food is full.
Some of Aoki’s high-end Stephen Curry playing cards. (Photo: Sean Jorgensen)
His focus, proper now, is vinyl.
In 2023, Aoki helped discovered Audio Media Grading, a firm geared toward grading vinyl and different recorded music codecs — just like how playing cards are graded.
Vinyl data, like playing cards, are collectibles, and Aoki desires individuals to see that they will have simply as a lot worth.
“I want to get the test pressings and the acetates of albums and singles and music and records that have impacted the world, you know?” he says. “There’s records out there that everybody knows; everyone knows Michael Jackson’s Thriller. There’s an acetate out there that exists. That acetate could be worth a lot of money. (But) people don’t have a value on it because there’s no exchange.”
That’s a massive a part of gathering, Aoki says. Anticipating the following massive factor and recognizing what can rise above the remaining.
“There’s people that are above the trend,” he says. “There’s certain people that you identify the entire sport with; Messi or Ronaldo. You don’t have to even watch soccer, but you know those two. They just defy it. Michael Jordan defies it. It doesn’t matter if he’s not the No. 1 all-time scorer. He’s the GOAT. It’s the same with DJs.
“Luckily, I’ve been able to mix my world with theirs.”
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